Christianity

Our vision is to deliver the message of Islam to millions of people in Africa and by doing so turn the Muslim minority areas into a peace loving progressive majority. We believe Islam is the solution to all the problems of Africa. Whether it is poverty, illiteracy, Corruption, HIV, disease or anything else, Islam will help solve some of these issues. Our method is based upon the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and we intend to deliver the message of Islam to every single house, village and city in southern Africa by 2060 inshAllah.­ Africa is one of the most receptive places to dawah in the World and the people are naturally inclined to Islam due to its simplicity and monotheistic beauty. l believe Allah will question us about Africa and the Convivencia Trust intends to help Muslims fulfill their obligation in the best way possible­.

Qur'ân: "And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish worship and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allâh and His messenger. As for these, Allâh will have mercy on them. Lo! Allâh is mighty, wise." (9):71)

Qur'ân: "And they (women) have rights similar to those of men over them in a just manner" (2):228)

Qur'ân: "Whoso does an ill deed, he will be repaid the like thereof, while whoso does right, whether male or female, and is a believer, (all) such will enter the garden, where they will be nourished without stint." (40):40.)

Bible:

"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (1 Timothy 2:11-14)

Bible says:

"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." (1 Corinthians 14:34)

Bible says:

"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as christ also is the head of the church, he himself being the savior of the body. But as the church is subject to christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything." (Ephesians 5:22-24)

Qur'ân: "And of His signs is this: he created for you spouses from yourselves that you might find tranquillity in them, and he ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are signs for folk who reflect." (30):21

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: "The best believers are the best in conduct, and the best of you are those who are best to their wives." (Tirmidhi)

Bible:

"A bad wife brings humiliation, downcast looks, and a wounded heart. Slack of hand and weak of knee is the man whose wife fails to make him happy. Woman is the origin of sin, and it is through her that we all die. Do not leave a leaky cistern to drip or allow a bad wife to say what she likes. If she does not accept your control, divorce her and send her away." (Ecclesiasticus 25:25).

Qur'ân: "...But consort with them in kindness, for if you hate them it may happen that you hate a thing wherein Allâh has placed much good." (4):19)

Bible: If a father/ husband does not endorse his daughter' / wife's vows, all pledges made by her become null and void, in other words a woman cannot make any contract on her own without the permission of a husband or father:

"But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand ....Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself" (Numbers. 30:2-15)

In Islam a woman's wealth is her own and her husband has no rights over it:

Qur'ân: "...and covet not the thing in which Allâh has made some of you excel others. Unto men a fortune from that which they have earned, and unto women a fortune from that which they have earned. (Envy not one another) but ask Allâh of his bounty. Verily! Allâh is knower of all things." (4):32)

Bible says:

"A virgin who is raped must marry her rapist (if they are "found")." (Deut 22:28-29)

"if a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives" Deuteronomy 22:28-30)

Qur'ân: "And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations) - flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors." (24:4)

The Bible blames Eve for the original sin in Genesis 3:12-16:

"and the man (Adam) said, the woman (Eve) whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord god said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat..unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

In the Qur'ân, both Adam and Eve share the blame for eating from the tree. This can be seen in the Qur'ân in such verses al-Baqarah (2):36, al-A'raf (7):22-24. They were also both forgiven by God Almighty for this sin.

Qur'ân: "O Adam dwell with your wife in the garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression. Then satan whispered to them in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them and he said: 'your Lord only forbade you this tree lest you become angels or such beings as live forever.' And he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: 'did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that satan was your avowed enemy?' They said: 'our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be lost' " (7:19-23).

The Bible says that giving birth to a female child makes a woman more "unclean" than if she had a male child. Leviticus 12:2-5:

"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, if a woman have conceived seed, and born a male child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying thirty three days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying sixty six days."

Ecclesiastics 7:26-28:

"and I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare....While I was still searching but not finding, I found one upright man among a thousand but not one upright woman among them all."

Qur'ân: "And their Lord has heard them (and he says): Verily! I suffer not the work of any worker, male or female, to be lost. You proceed one from another." (3):195)

Qur'ân: "And whoso does good works, whether of male or female, and he (or she) is a believer, such will enter paradise and they will not be wronged the dint in a date stone." (The Noble Qur'ân, an-Nisâ (4):124)

Qur'ân: "Whosoever does right, whether male or female, and is a believer, him verily we shall quicken with good life, and We shall pay them a recompense in proportion to the best of what they used to do." (16):97)

Bible says that a woman must cover her head as a sign of man's authority over her:

"And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head - it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head." (1 Corinthians 11:3-10)

Bible: 1 Corinthians 11:5-10:

"But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head."

Bible: 1 Corinthians 11:13:

"Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto god (with her head) uncovered?"

The Qur'ân teaches that a woman must be covered out of modesty and to protect her from harassment:

Qur'ân: "Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty......And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms...." (24:30,31)

Qur'ân: "O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their bodies (when abroad) so that they should be known and not molested." (33:59).

According to the Bible (Numbers 27:1-11), widows and sisters don't inherit at all. Daughters can inherit only if their deceased father had no sons:

Qur'ân: "Unto the men (of a family) belongs a share of that which parents and near kindred leave, and unto the women a share of that which parents and near kindred leave, whether it be little or much, a legal share." (4):77.

Bible: Leviticus 15:19-30,

"And if a woman have an issue (her period/menses), [and] her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it [be] on [her] bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.....(It goes on and on)."

It is mentioned in Surah Maryam, Chapter 19 verse 33 "So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die and the Day that I shall be raised up to life (again)". [Al-Qur'ân 19:33]

The Qur'ân mentions that Jesus (pbuh) said "Peace is on me the Day I was born, the day that I die". It is not stated: "the day that I died". It is in the future tense and not in the past tense.

JESUS (PBUH) WAS RAISED UP ALIVE

The Qur'ân further says in Surah Nisa, Chapter 4 verse 157-158:

"That they said (in boast), ‘We killed Jesus Christ the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah’ But they killed him not, Nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not- Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is exalted in Power, Wise." [Al-Qur'ân 4:157-158]

Christianity is a Semitic religion, which claims to have nearly 1.2 billion adherents all over the world. Christianity owes its name to Jesus Christ (peace be on him). The Bible is the sacred scripture of the Christians.

a) The Bible is divided into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the Holy Scripture of the Jews and contains records of all the prophets of the Jews that came before Jesus (peace be on him). The New Testament contains records of the life of Jesus (peace be on him).

b) The complete Bible, i.e. the Old Testament and the New Testament put together, contains 73 books. However, the Protestant Bible i.e. the King James Version, contains only 66 books as they consider 7 books of the Old Testament to be apocrypha, i.e. of doubtful authority.

Therefore the Old Testament of the Catholics, contains 46 books and that of the Protestants, 39 books. However the New Testament of both these sects contains 27 books.

II. POSITION OF JESUS (Peace Be Upon Him) IN ISLAM:

(i) Islam is the only non-Christian faith, which makes it an article of faith to believe in Jesus (peace be on him). No Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus (peace be on him).

(ii) We believe that he was one of the mightiest Messengers of Allah (the Almighty).

(iii) We believe that he was born miraculously, without any male intervention, which many modern day Christians do not believe.

(iv) We believe he was the "Messiah", translated Christ (peace be on him).

(v) We believe that he gave life to the dead with God's permission.

(iv) We believe that he healed those born blind, and the lepers with God's permission.

III. CONCEPT OF GOD IN CHRISTIANITY:

1. Jesus Christ (peace be on him) never claimed Divinity

One may ask, if both Muslims and Christians love and respect Jesus (peace be on him), where exactly is the parting of ways? The major difference between Islam and Christianity is the Christians' insistence on the supposed divinity of Christ (peace be on him). A study of the Christian scriptures reveals that Jesus (peace be on him) never claimed divinity. In fact there is not a single unequivocal statement in the entire Bible where Jesus (peace be on him) himself says, "I am God" or where he says, "worship me". In fact the Bible contains statements attributed to Jesus (peace be on him) in which he preached quite the contrary. The following statements in the Bible are attributed to Jesus Christ (peace be on him):

(v) "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." [The Bible, John 5:30]

2. The Mission of Jesus Christ (peace be on him) – to Fulfill the Law

Jesus (peace be on him) never claimed divinity for himself. He clearly announced the nature of his mission. Jesus (peace be on him) was sent by God to confirm the previous Judaic law. This is clearly evident in the following statements attributed to Jesus (peace be on him) in the Gospel of Mathew:

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." [The Bible, Mathew 5:17-20]

3. God Sent Jesus (peace be on him)

The Bible mentions the prophetic nature of Jesus (peace be on him) mission in the following verses:

(i) "... and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." [The Bible, John 14:24]

(ii) "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent." [The Bible, John 17:3]

4. Jesus Refuted even the Remotest Suggestion of his Divinity

Consider the following incident mentioned in the Bible:

"And behold, one came and said unto him, 'Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?' And he said unto him, 'Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.' [The Bible, Mathew 19:16-17]

Jesus (peace be on him) did not say that to have the eternal life of paradise, man should believe in him as Almighty God or worship him as God, or believe that Jesus (pbuh) would die for his sins. On the contrary he said that the path to salvation was through keeping the commandments. It is indeed striking to note the difference between the words of Jesus Christ (peace be on him) and the Christian dogma of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus (peace be on him).

5. Jesus (peace be on him) of Nazareth – a Man Approved of God

The following statement from the Bible supports the Islamic belief that Jesus (peace be on him) was a prophet of God.

"Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know." [The Bible, Acts 2:22]

6. The First Commandment is that God is One

The Bible does not support the Christian belief in trinity at all. One of the scribes once asked Jesus (peace be on him) as to which was the first commandment of all, to which Jesus (peace be on him) merely repeated what Moses (peace be on him) had said earlier:

It is striking that the basic teachings of the Church such as Trinity and vicarious atonement find no mention in the Bible. In fact, various verses of the Bible point to Jesus' (peace be on him) actual mission, which was to fulfill the law revealed to Prophet Moses (peace be on him). Indeed Jesus (peace be on him) rejected any suggestions that attributed divinity to him, and explained his miracles as the power of the One True God.

Jesus (peace be on him) thus reiterated the message of monotheism that was given by all earlier prophets of Almighty God.

Note: All quotations of the Bible are taken from the King James Version.

IV. CONCEPT OF GOD IN OLD TESTAMENT:

1. God is One

The following verse from the book of Deuteronomy contains an exhortation from Moses (peace be on him ):